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The book review discusses "Celebrity in the Time of Covid: Fandom and the Influence of Pandemic Messaging" by Christina S. Beck. The book explores how celebrities from various fields became involved in understanding and combating the Covid pandemic. It focuses on the US but acknowledges the need for comparative analyses in different national contexts. The book examines the role of fandom in relation to celebrity health narratives during the pandemic and analyzes the polarizing effect of Covid on celebrities and their fans. The review highlights the book's valuable analyses of how celebrities engaged with fandom and the temporary flourishing of fandom for "medical heroes" during the pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

"Covid and ... How to Do Rhetoric in a Pandemic" is an edited collection that explores the role of rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book examines various themes and moments that have emerged during the pandemic, such as health equity, social justice, chronic illness, and the concept of "essentiality." The editors present heuristics to guide readers in understanding how rhetoric functions during a pandemic, emphasizing the importance of considering the rhetorical ecologies of health and the social and structural determinants of health. The book is organized into three sections that examine preexisting and chronic conditions, the paradoxical categorization of individuals as "essential" yet "disposable," and the potential for remedy and resistance. The collection features interdisciplinary perspectives and is grounded in values of social justice and intersectionality. It serves as a time capsule of the pandemic, capturing select snapshots of the discursive forces surrounding COVID-19 and highlighting the impact of discourse on our culture. [Extracted from the article]

The present study explores the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduates, mental health distress, and changes in self-estimated grades during the start of the pandemic. A national sample of undergraduate students (N = 197) participated in an online survey during spring 2020. Undergraduate students were recruited for a survey during the initial lockdown in April-May 2020. Higher depressive symptoms, general anxiety, and academic distress were associated with significantly lower self-estimated grades. Perceived grade declines were also correlated with higher financial concerns and risk for COVID-19 complications or infection. These results suggest that COVID-19 and the resulting modifications to education impacted undergraduate achievement and mental health. It is imperative for colleges and universities to provide additional support for students and their mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jayati Ghosh, The Making of a Catastrophe: The Disastrous Economic Fallout of the Covid-19 Pandemic in India. Aleph Book Company, 2022, 271 pages, ₹799 (Hardbound). ISBN 978-93-90652-96-9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Pandemic Divide: How Covid Increased Inequality in America" is a book that examines the racial inequalities in America and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racialized minorities. The authors argue that institutional and structural racism created conditions that made certain groups more vulnerable to disease and medical neglect. The book provides data on COVID-19 statistics disaggregated by race, highlighting the higher death rates among Black people. It also explores the impact of the pandemic on mental health, education, and vaccine hesitancy within racialized communities. The authors emphasize the role of structural racism in perpetuating health disparities and call for a better understanding of these issues. [Extracted from the article]

"Reading Habits in the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Applied Linguistic Perspective" is a book review that discusses the impact of the pandemic on readers' habits and literary practices. The book presents a corpus-driven stylistic analysis of readers' relationships to literary genres, time, coping strategies, re-reading, and social reading during the first lockdown. The findings reveal that readers gravitated towards formulaic genres for escapism and comfort, perceived reading as a therapeutic activity, returned to familiar books for enjoyment and emotional resonance, and used video-call software and social media platforms to maintain social literary practices. The book's interdisciplinary approach combines corpus linguistics, stylistics, thematic coding, and literary methodologies to provide a comprehensive analysis of reading habits during the pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

The book "COVID-19 in International Media: Global Pandemic Perspectives" edited by John C. Pollock and Douglas A. Vakoch explores how media organizations around the world covered the COVID-19 pandemic. The book includes 20 chapters that address various challenges faced by the media, such as government interference, disinformation campaigns, and resource inequalities. It also examines the role of culture, national context, media systems, and risk perceptions in shaping media representations of the pandemic. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding how different factors influenced communication practices during the pandemic to better address future outbreaks. [Extracted from the article]

"Miscommunicating the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Asian Perspective" is a book that examines the spread of COVID-19 misinformation in Asian cities and its negative consequences. The authors use multiple methods and data sets to provide a comprehensive understanding of the emergence, diffusion, and impacts of misinformation. The book also offers practical guidance for policymakers and emphasizes the importance of civic participation, media literacy education, and infrastructure improvements in combating misinformation. The findings have implications for handling misinformation in future public health crises and are relevant to researchers, students, media practitioners, and policymakers. [Extracted from the article]

"Islamic Economics and Covid-19: The Economic, Social, and Scientific Consequences of a Global Pandemic" by Masudul Alam Choudhury is a book that explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various sectors, including the economy, global health, and mental well-being. The author proposes new concepts and ideas rooted in Islamic economics, emphasizing the integration of moral values and science in economic theory. The book presents a multidisciplinary model called science-economy-society moral inclusiveness, which incorporates Tawhidi's moral values and the Qur'an and Sunnah as sources of Islamic law. It offers a new perspective on addressing current and future challenges caused by the pandemic and provides insights for researchers, students, and policymakers. [Extracted from the article]

The book "Economists and COVID-19: ideas, theories and policies during the pandemic" explores the economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in different countries. It discusses the influence of economists on economic policy in China, the USA, Italy, France, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, India, and Palestine. The book highlights how the crisis worsened existing economic issues and ideological divisions, with most countries initially prioritizing economic growth over public health. It also examines the specific economic challenges faced by each country and the impact of the pandemic on their economies. The book analyzes the tension between saving the economy and saving lives, as well as the role of mainstream and heterodox economists in shaping policy responses. It suggests that the pandemic has not fundamentally changed economic discussions or policies. [Extracted from the article]

"Stress Tested: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Canadian National Security" is a book edited by Leah West, Thomas Juneau, and Amarnath Amarasingam that explores the impact of the pandemic on Canadian national security. The book examines the relationship between national security and public health, providing a critical understanding of how the Canadian intelligence and security community can improve its capabilities to respond to future public health emergencies. Divided into two parts, the book discusses the new challenges facing Canadian national security, such as conspiracy theories and cyber-attacks, and explores the responses of various government agencies to the pandemic. While some chapters provide comparisons with other countries' approaches, the book ultimately offers lessons learned and policy solutions for improving security and safeguarding the health of Canadians. However, the book's publication timing in 2021 means it only covers the first year of the pandemic, missing longer-term implications and challenges. [Extracted from the article]